East LA Braces for Gold Line Opening

The Metro Gold Line eastside extension - connecting East LA to Pasadena via Downtown - is set to begin operation in September, just a couple of months after the initial scheduled opening. Metro is currently working on last-minute cosmetic details, removing construction equipment, and testing the mechanics of the 6-mile extension. The line is projected to carry 13,000 passengers per day in the first year, but every prior rail opening in the city has far surpassed rider expectations. Primary in pre-opening considerations is safety, according to MTA, especially in the underground segment of the line - the dual tunnel system that has been constructed under Boyle Heights.

Pedestrian and vehicle safety workshops are being conducted in the communities that the new line will serve, especially those that may not have been exposed to light-rail transit, namely the largely Spanish-speaking communities east of the LA River. In addition, MTA has employed safety ambassadors to stand outside of the stations for the next 6 months, answering questions and giving instructions to curious passers-by. MTA has proven extremely diplomatic in its approach to the construction and introduction of this line, having also assisted nearby small businesses maintain customer traffic despite construction inconveniences. This is an approach MTA will want to retain for public relations with South LA communities that will be affected by the incoming Expo Line. Some residents there have fought immutably to block ground-level crossings. Residents will also want to watch for safety statistics on the new Gold Line.

And drivers take warning: cameras will be placed at every train crossing, ready to ticket those imprudent drivers who make illegal turns.

Battle Over Boundaries of 'Eastside' Wages On

The long-fought battle over the definition of LA's Eastside gained new interest today, thanks to an LA Times article by Esmeralda Bermudez. Residents of neighborhoods like Boyle Heights, just east of Downtown, claim the Eastside has always been defined as the area of the city east of the LA River. The term 'Eastside,' originally used pejoratively by politicians before the 1960s, carries with it a history of racial discrimination and Chicano pride. It was a name thrust on area Latinos by wealthy white Westsiders, and it stuck.

But another group has begun to adopt the name for their own part of the city - an area on the other side of town. New residents in neighborhoods like Silver Lake and Echo Park have picked up the name as a cultural backlash against the pricey real estate and superiority complex of the Westside. These Eastside "pretenders" are young, middle to upper-middle class whites, often hailing from out-of-state, with little knowledge of the city's geography and cultural history. They are the arbiters who have contributed to the gentrification of places like Echo Park, a neighborhood that was for a long time poor and predominantly Mexican-American.

A year ago, a number of activists associated with the blog LAeastside.com, tagged posters all over areas considered to be the Eastside "sham," like one on the bus stop above. (If you look closely, you can identify Intelligentsia - the Silver Lake hipster Mecca - in the background.) Defenders of the east-of-the-river title claim that the usage of the label by outsiders is ignorant and "eliminates us." One victory this group claims is the renaming of the Eastside Art Crawl to the Silver Lake Art Crawl. But many west-of-the-river advocates argue they are not trying to supplant any one's cultural history - they are merely creating an identity for themselves that rejects the white picket fence idyll of West LA.

It is a sticky issue that is not new to a city where boundaries are both ever-present and blurry. It is, like many topics in LA, an issue that is both racial and political at its roots. As a state that was annexed by the US from Mexico, California has a deep history of supplanting and removal, especially of Mexicans. Latino Americans fought hard in the 1960s for equality at schools and in the workplace. Boyle Heights and unincorporated East LA boast a rich history of Mexican-American-ness that is both proud and dark. Silver Lake yuppies would be wise to invent an identification that both celebrates their values and doesn't devalue those of another. But heated political debates aside, look at the pure geography - can something really be considered "east" if it lies significantly west of the city's center?

Burning Bridges at 6th Street

The Sixth Street Viaduct, a historic bridge spanning the LA River into Boyle Heights, has been flagged for demolition in the next few years. The bridge, built in 1932 is one of 13 historic bridges connecting Downtown to East LA over the river channel, railroad tracks, and industrial lots. Despite preservationists' pleas for conservation and retrofitting of the bridge (mainly from the LA Conservancy), the city favors the replacement of the bridge as a new bridge would last about 150% longer than a retrofitted bridge. The viaduct, which has been weakened by a chemical reaction known as alkali-silica reaction, will most likely collapse in the next 50 years if no action is taken.

The city hired San Francisco bridge-focused architecture firm Donald MacDonald, FAIA to create five different schemes for the design of the new bridge. They range from one exact replica of the existing bridge to two historic-looking designs to two modern cable-structure designs. The replica scheme would be the costliest at $402 million, while the cheapest would be a simple freeway-like concrete deck spanning the river. But the city has made it clear they are interested in creating a bridge that might be a landmark monument for the area.

The architect and engineering teams have agreed that whatever scheme is chosen, it will take into consideration the vocabulary of the existing art deco architecture along the river. After the draft EIR is issued in the coming weeks, the final EIR will arrive around the end of this year, and construction should begin in 2012. But considering the retirement of the rusty train tracks and the drip drip dribble that is the LA River, wouldn't it be prudent to consider a simple at-grade street in place of a big dramatic bridge?